Shemittah, trust, and receiving the Torah

ענין שמיטין אצל הר סיני.

The matter of the laws of shemittah (the sabbatical year) being placed next to Har Sinai.

Rashi's famous question: why does the Torah single out shemittah as having been given "at Har Sinai"? The Sefas Emes will explain the inner link between the two.

ע"פ המד' ויקרא.

Based on the Midrash to Vayikra.

He builds his explanation upon a Midrash on the verse from Tehillim about the angels.

ברכו ה' מלאכיו ולא כל מלאכיו תחתונים שא"י לעמוד בתפקידיו של הקב"ה כו' גבורי כח בשומרי שביעית הכ' מדבר עושי דברו וזה דבר השמיטה ע"ש.

"Bless Hashem, O His angels" (Tehillim 103:20) — but not all His angels, for the lower beings cannot withstand the charges Hashem places upon them… "mighty in strength" — the verse speaks of those who keep the seventh year; "who do His word (osei devaro)" — this refers to the matter of shemittah; see there.

The Midrash applies the verse praising the mighty angels who "do His word" to the keepers of shemittah, calling them "mighty in strength" — for letting one's field lie fallow for a whole year demands an angelic level of strength and faith.

כי הנה בנ"י זכו לקבלת התורה ע"י המדבר כמ"ש זכרתי לך חסד כו' לכתך אחרי במדבר בארץ לא זרועה.

For behold, Bnei Yisrael merited the receiving of the Torah by means of the wilderness, as it says: "I remember for you the kindness… your following Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown" (Yirmiyahu 2:2).

Israel earned the Torah specifically through the midbar — by following Hashem into a barren, unsown desert with no natural means of survival, relying on Him alone.

כי התורה היא מעולם העליון וא"י לזכות לתורה עד שמבטלין כל עוה"ז ונמשכין לבטוח בו ית' בלבד.

For the Torah is from the upper world, and one cannot merit Torah until he nullifies all of this world and is drawn to trust in Him alone.

Torah comes from a higher realm; to receive it one must achieve bittul of this entire world, casting his bitachon (trust) entirely upon Hashem rather than on natural means.

וכן מבקשין ובעבור אבותינו שבטחו בך ותלמדם חוקי חיים כו'.

And so we pray: "and for the sake of our fathers who trusted in You, and You taught them the statutes of life…"

Our liturgy itself ties the giving of the Torah's "statutes of life" to the bitachon of the Avos — trust was the precondition for receiving Torah.

ובאמת לאו כל מוחא סביל דא.

And in truth, not every mind can bear this.

Such complete bittul and bitachon is not within everyone's capacity — it is a lofty madreigah.

רק מיוחדים שנק' מלאכיו.

Only special ones, who are called "His angels."

Only exceptional individuals — those the Midrash terms "His angels" — can truly carry this level of trust.

וכן בדורות דור המדבר היה להם זה הכח וכל הדורות נמשכין אחריהם.

And so among the generations, the generation of the wilderness had this strength, and all later generations are drawn after them.

The dor hamidbar possessed this angelic power of bittul and bitachon, and every subsequent generation draws its own capacity from theirs.

וכן בכל דור יש יחידים שיש להם זה הכח והקב"ה זכר עשה לנפלאותיו ונתן לנו מצות שנזכה על ידיהם למדרגה הראשונה.

And so in every generation there are individuals who possess this strength; and the Holy One "made a remembrance for His wonders" (Tehillim 111:4) and gave us mitzvos through which we may merit that first, original level.

In each generation a select few carry this power; and for the rest, Hashem gave mitzvos that serve as a "remembrance," enabling everyone to reach a taste of that original wilderness-level of trust.

כמ"ש תחתונים שא"י לעמוד בתפקידיו.

As stated: "the lower beings, who cannot withstand the charges He places upon them."

This is the Midrash's point that most people — the "lower beings" — cannot bear such tasks on their own; the mitzvos bridge that gap.

ומ"מ יש זמנים שנמצא התעוררות בבנ"י.

Nevertheless, there are times when an awakening is found among Bnei Yisrael.

At certain appointed times, even the broader community is granted a special arousal toward this lofty trust.

וכמו כן בשנת השמיטה הוא ממש לכתך אחרי בארץ לא זרועה.

And so too, the shemittah year is literally "your following Me… in a land not sown."

Leaving the land fallow during shemittah re-enacts the wilderness experience: a "land not sown," in which one follows Hashem and lives by trust alone.

והיה מתגלה להם הארת קבלת התורה כמ"ש עושי דברו ועי"ז לשמוע בקול דברו.

And the illumination of the receiving of the Torah would be revealed to them, as it says, "those who do His word (osei devaro)," and through this, "to hearken to the voice of His word."

Through the shemittah's re-enactment of wilderness trust, the very light of Matan Torah shines forth: first "doing His word," which then leads to truly "hearkening to the voice of His word."

ועושי דברו שמיטה.

And "those who do His word" — this is shemittah.

The phrase "doers of His word" corresponds to the shemittah year itself.

לשמוע בקול דברו הוא יובל שופר תרועה.

"To hearken to the voice of His word" — this is the Yovel (jubilee), the shofar, the teruah-blast.

The higher rung, "hearkening to the voice," corresponds to Yovel, announced by the sounding of the shofar — listening to the Divine call.

ובאמת פי' עושי דברו הוא שאין להם עבודה אחרת רק זו כמלאך שאין בו רק שליחותו.

And in truth, the meaning of "doers of His word" is that they have no other avodah but this one — like an angel, which has nothing in it but its mission.

To "do His word" like the angels means total single-mindedness: just as an angel is wholly defined by its one shlichus (mission), so the shemittah-keeper is entirely devoted to Hashem's word and nothing else.

ובשנת השמיטה היו עוסקין רק בתורת ה' וכן מעין זה בש"ק יעשה כולו תורה כמ"ש במדרשים שיש בו הארה מקבלת התורה.

And in the shemittah year they would occupy themselves only with the Torah of Hashem; and similarly, in this vein, on the holy Shabbos one should make it entirely Torah, as the Midrashim say, for it contains an illumination from the receiving of the Torah.

Freed from agricultural labor, the people in shemittah devoted themselves wholly to Torah. Shabbos works the same way in miniature — a day to be entirely given over to Torah, carrying within it the same light of Matan Torah.

ובאמת באלה הימים מפסח עד שבועות נמשכו בנ"י אחריו ית' עד שזכו לקבלת התורה לכן וודאי נשאר רשימה באלה ימי הספירה.

And in truth, during these days from Pesach until Shavuos, Bnei Yisrael were drawn after Him until they merited the receiving of the Torah; therefore an impression certainly remains in these days of Sefirah.

The original journey from Pesach to Shavuos was a sustained drawing-near to Hashem that culminated in Matan Torah, so a lasting spiritual imprint remains in the days of Sefiras HaOmer each year.

וכתיב ה"א תירא אותו תעבוד ובו תדבק ובשמו תשבע.

And it is written: "Hashem your God shall you fear, Him shall you serve, to Him shall you cleave, and in His Name shall you swear" (Devarim 10:20).

The Sefas Emes now maps the four phrases of this verse onto the stages of this period of the year.

והוא רמז לאלה הימים כי בפסח שיצאנו ממצרים להיות עבדי ה' בחי' אותו תעבוד דכתיב ועבדת כו' העבודה הזאת בחודש הזה.

And this is a hint to these days: for on Pesach, when we went out of Mitzrayim to become servants of Hashem — the aspect of "Him shall you serve," as it is written, "and you shall perform this service in this month."

The Exodus made us Hashem's servants, corresponding to "Him shall you serve" — the avodah of Pesach.

ואמרו שאין לך עבודה אחרת אלא זו הוא רמז להשבתת שאור.

And they said that "you have no other service but this" — a hint to the removal of chametz (leaven).

The single-minded devotion of "no other service but this" is enacted on Pesach by ridding ourselves of all chametz — clearing away every competing influence.

ובו תדבק הוא ימי הספירה כמ"ש ז"ל ואיך אפשר לדבוק בשכינה אש אוכלה אלא הדבק במידותיו.

"To Him shall you cleave" — this is the days of Sefirah, as our Sages said: "And how is it possible to cleave to the Shechinah, which is a consuming fire? Rather, cleave to His attributes (middos)."

The Sefirah days correspond to "cleaving" — and since one cannot literally cling to Hashem, this cleaving is accomplished by emulating His middos (attributes).

וימים אלו הם לתקן המדות.

And these days are for rectifying the middos.

This is why the Sefirah period is devoted to refining one's character traits — the way to "cleave" to Hashem.

ובשמו תשבע הוא חג השבועות.

"And in His Name shall you swear" — this is Chag HaShavuos.

The final phrase corresponds to Shavuos, the culmination of the count and the receiving of the Torah.

אורייתא כולא שמא דקוב"ה והוא הכח של התורה שמסייע לעובדי ה' כמ"ש מגדל עוז שם ה' בו ירוץ צדיק כו':

"The entire Torah is the Name of the Holy One, blessed is He" (Zohar) — and this is the power of the Torah that assists those who serve Hashem, as it says: "The Name of Hashem is a tower of strength; the tzaddik runs into it…" (Mishlei 18:10).

The whole Torah is, in its essence, the Name of Hashem; "swearing in His Name" thus means Shavuos and Matan Torah, for the Torah is the very power and refuge that strengthens all who serve Hashem.

Summary: Shemittah is linked to Har Sinai because both demand total bittul of this world and bitachon in Hashem alone — the wilderness condition through which Israel received the Torah. Like the angels who "do His word" with single-minded devotion, the keepers of shemittah (and Shabbos) give themselves wholly to Hashem and so re-experience the light of Matan Torah. This same path runs through the Omer: Pesach is "serving" Hashem, Sefirah is "cleaving" to Him by refining the middos, and Shavuos is "His Name" — the Torah itself, which is the strength of all who serve Him.